ABA/NPEC Panel Discussion on Over-Classification Includes Senators and PIDB Member

On May 11, 2023, the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security co-sponsored a panel discussion of the NPEC’s study on “Over-classification:  How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?”. The panel met at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, and featured Senator Mark R. Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Mike Rounds, member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Benjamin Powell, a member of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). Their discussion focused on challenges to the current classification and declassification system; how best to reduce the volume and level of classified documents to help prevent future leaks of classified information; and how to ensure that classified records remain in government custody. The ABA/NPEC event followed the introduction on May 10, of two Senate bills to reform the classification system with bipartisan co-sponsorship, including Senators Rounds and Warner: the Classification Reform Act of 2023, and the Sensible Classification Act of 2023.